Kenny Dalglish was back at Liverpool to launch the Hillsborough Memorial charity game yesterday but revealed his official return to Anfield is not yet a fait accompli. The Liverpool legend also backed his former club Newcastle United to survive relegation this season and insisted it is wrong to blame Mike Ashley for the precarious predicament at St James' Park.

Liverpool officials approached Dalglish several weeks ago with the offer of an ambassadorial role at the club he served for 14 years as player and manager. The approach has the blessing of manager Rafael Benítez but terms and conditions had not been finalised with Dalglish before his possible return became known, much to the former Liverpool manager's disquiet.

The 58-year-old, who could be involved in Liverpool's youth academy when its management is restructured this summer, said: "It would have been perfect if everything could have been done and dusted when it first came out, but it came out too early and there's nothing to add really. It would be fantastic to give a different answer but it is not at that stage yet. It was somebody's idea and there has been a discussion."

The Scot was at Anfield to publicise the Hillsborough Memorial Game at the stadium on Thursday 14 May, with all proceeds going to the Marina Dalglish Appeal and its attempt to raise £5m towards a new £17.2m radiotherapy unit in Liverpool. Players involved in the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, plus finalists Everton, will be among those taking part in a game that will see Jamie Carragher coach an All-Stars team and the former Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Paul Harrison, who lost his father and uncle in the disaster, appearing for Liverpool Legends.

Dalglish admitted his aim was not only to raise funds for his wife's appeal but to ensure Hillsborough remains firmly in the public domain following the 20th anniversary memorial service and the government's subsequent request for South Yorkshire Police to release all documents relating to the disaster.

"I think the families have taken a great deal of encouragement from what Andy Burnham [the culture, media and sports minister] said, and his attempt to reduce the 30-year privacy law on the documents so that people can see them now," said Dalglish.

"Gordon Brown reiterated what he said in the House of Commons after that. Andy got a wee bit of a tough ride here but, to be fair to him, he said he would never have shied away from coming to the memorial service because it meant an awful lot to him. The families have taken great encouragement from that and also from 30,000 people turning up on the day to pay their respects.

"It was something everyone wishes never happened but it is something that should never be forgotten, and I don't think it ever will. The 20th anniversary has been poignant and it has showed people that it is not going to go away."

As for Newcastle, who face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday three points adrift in the relegation zone, Dalglish believes his former club can survive a calamitous drop to the Championship under Alan Shearer but that Ashley's ownership is not the reason for their slide.

"Anybody who gets that close to relegation is going to be looking at an overhaul. How they go about it is not for me to say," said the former Newcastle manager. "To be fair to Mike Ashley, he has spent an awful lot of money on the club. He cannot be accused of not spending money at Newcastle. People will have their opinions on how the money was spent but that's football. He has certainly put his hands in his pocket for them.

"They are fighting for survival and, to be perfectly honest, I think they'll stay up. I hope they stay up. It would be great for Alan to keep them up and I think they can win their two home games against Middlesbrough and Fulham and that will give them 37 points. You look at Hull's fixtures and they could get 37 too, and Newcastle have a better goal difference."

Tickets for the Hillsborough Memorial Game in aid of the Marina Dalglish Appeal are on sale now from the ticket office at Anfield, Liverpool's official website and the credit card booking line: 0844 844 0844.